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Websleuths News

Join Websleuths Radio for the final discussion of THE KILLING SEASON
with Josh Zemam, Rachel Mills and special guests including Bob Kolker author of Lost Girls

When her body was found in July 1993, she was wearing men's underwear and a long-sleeved sweatshirt with a long-sleeved T-shirt underneath. Efforts to identify her failed, and her file — five pages long — was forgotten.

Five years ago, Metro police Officer David Achord stumbled upon Jane Doe's file.

''I was looking for something else entirely down in archives,'' said Achord, a homicide detective. ''And I just kind of went from there.''

Achord began researching the case hoping to discover the woman's identity.

It marked the beginning of a crusade that led him to encourage Metro police to establish a Web page in 2000 dedicated to identifying corpses of unknown individuals found in Davidson County.

He has yet to uncover the identity of a corpse but remains tireless in his efforts.

Each posting contains as much information as possible about the case, including some post-mortem pictures.

Although including pictures can be helpful, it doesn't go without debate. One person wrote a letter asking the chief to remove a picture of skeletal remains because it was offensive. Officials edited the picture so it contained only the clothing.

The postings have generated some leads and inquiries, but so far, no positive identifications have been made, Achord said. Some of the leads have eliminated possible matches between people reported missing and the bodies found.

When a body is found, many different methods are used to identify the body. One of the best ways is DNA testing, which can be used even on skeletal remains.

The FBI can store relatives' DNA test results in its database and compare them with those from unidentified bodies.

However, because of a backlog at the FBI, such testing can take two to three years. Achord said he believes that an increase in funding for the database would expedite DNA testing and solve more cases.

Because the bodies go unclaimed, some are buried under ''Unknown'' markers. Others, such as the Jane Doe from 1993, are picked up by the University of Tennessee's anthropology department, which uses them to study decomposition.

Achord dedicates as much time as he can to his project, working around his duties as a homicide detective.

He said there probably are more unidentified-person files in the archives, but he hasn't time to search for them. Finding the files and trying to solve the cases is a big job, but he remains committed.

''These people are loved by someone,'' he said. ''They're missed by someone

So you think that the world owes you something, Hey baby so do I
But you sink like a stone from the weight of the debt
Its so heavy it makes you cry
And you think that your innocence is somewhere
south of the Georgia line
But for all of the days that you spent headed south its still five below when you open your mouth

Are they listed in Doe Network? If not then that is something that someone can do. If they aren't listed there, and someone notifies them they will collect the info and list the remains.
Since that is the largest database of remains, that is where people go first to search for loved ones. Also, they have volunteers who will start trying to match the remains to missing persons.

Just when I think that I have seen the most depraved things a human can do to another human, somebody posts a new story...........

Why is it that when a custodial parent fails to provide for a child it is called neglect and is a criminal matter. But when a non custodial parent fails to provide it is called failure to support and is a civil matter?

"Just when the caterpillar thought its world was over, it became a butterfly" ~ Michelle Knight

When her body was found in July 1993, she was wearing men's underwear and a long-sleeved sweatshirt with a long-sleeved T-shirt underneath. Efforts to identify her failed, and her file — five pages long — was forgotten.

Five years ago, Metro police Officer David Achord stumbled upon Jane Doe's file.

''I was looking for something else entirely down in archives,'' said Achord, a homicide detective. ''And I just kind of went from there.''

Achord began researching the case hoping to discover the woman's identity.

It marked the beginning of a crusade that led him to encourage Metro police to establish a Web page in 2000 dedicated to identifying corpses of unknown individuals found in Davidson County.

He has yet to uncover the identity of a corpse but remains tireless in his efforts.

Each posting contains as much information as possible about the case, including some post-mortem pictures.

Although including pictures can be helpful, it doesn't go without debate. One person wrote a letter asking the chief to remove a picture of skeletal remains because it was offensive. Officials edited the picture so it contained only the clothing.

The postings have generated some leads and inquiries, but so far, no positive identifications have been made, Achord said. Some of the leads have eliminated possible matches between people reported missing and the bodies found.

When a body is found, many different methods are used to identify the body. One of the best ways is DNA testing, which can be used even on skeletal remains.

The FBI can store relatives' DNA test results in its database and compare them with those from unidentified bodies.

However, because of a backlog at the FBI, such testing can take two to three years. Achord said he believes that an increase in funding for the database would expedite DNA testing and solve more cases.

Because the bodies go unclaimed, some are buried under ''Unknown'' markers. Others, such as the Jane Doe from 1993, are picked up by the University of Tennessee's anthropology department, which uses them to study decomposition.

Achord dedicates as much time as he can to his project, working around his duties as a homicide detective.

He said there probably are more unidentified-person files in the archives, but he hasn't time to search for them. Finding the files and trying to solve the cases is a big job, but he remains committed.

''These people are loved by someone,'' he said. ''They're missed by someone

Cut and paste the following links
.police.nashville.org/get_involved/unidentified/
.police.nashville.org/get_involved/unidentified/uhv_03241976.htm
.police.nashville.org/get_involved/unidentified/uhv_03191998.htm

NOTE: In order for the complete web address to show here at websleuths I had to omit the "www" in front of each. Please include this when you go to the web archive or it won't find the pages.

You'll be able to view the last update to the page, and the updates before the last update.

Thanks for that info....that helped alot. I copied this to post and someone can move it to another section if they want. Also, it may have already been posted but sometimes people don't go back far to read. Since this was of a missing girl with a pretty good description, someone might recognize the information. Again, it may be solved but going to post just in case it helps:

************************************************** **********
On March 24, 1976, a fisherman found a body floating in the Harpeth river in Davidson County. The victim is described as a female/other, 5'2", 125 pounds, long black hair and brown eyes. The victim was buxom in build, and the medical examiner is of the opinion that she was in her teens when she died. The victim had two surgical scars on her abdomen area, old scars on both arms, and a mole by the left eye.

Subsequent investigation revealed that the victim may have been named "Sherry" or Cheryl." She had been picked up hitchhiking previously. She was with a slender blonde white female. They had made statements that they were runaways from a juvenile institution from a northern state and that they were going to Florida where her companions' husband was living.

As of this date, the identity of the victim has not been established nor have any suspects been located.

Anyone that may have information on this incident, please call Detective David Achord at the Metropolitan Nashville Police Homicide Unit at (615) 862-7546.

If you have any information relating to these murders, please contact the Homicide Unit at
phone: (615) 862-7329fax: (615) 862-7810

You can also call the Nashville Police Department's
Crime Stoppers Division at(615) 74-CRIME